The voiceless velar lateral affricate is an uncommon speech sound found as a phoneme in the Caucasus and as an allophone in several languages of eastern and southern Africa.

Archi, a Northeast Caucasian language of Dagestan, has two such affricates, plain [k͡ʟ̝̊] and labialized [k͡ʟ̝̊ʷ], though they are further forward than velars in most languages, and might better be called prevelar. Archi also has ejective variants of its lateral affricates, several voiceless lateral fricatives, and a voiced lateral fricative at the same place of articulation, but no alveolar lateral fricatives or affricates.^[1]

Zulu and Xhosa have a voiceless lateral affricate as an allophone of their voiceless velar affricate. Hadza has an ejective velar lateral affricate as an allophone of its velar ejective affricate. Indeed, in Hadza this [k͡ʟ̝̊ʼ] contrasts with a palatal lateral ejective affricate, [c͡ʎ̝̊ʼ]. ǁXegwi is reported to have contrasted velar /k͡ʟ̝̊/ from alveolar /t͜ɬ/.

Laghuu, a Loloish language of Vietnam, contrasts four velar lateral affricates, /k͡ʟ̝̊ʰ, k͡ʟ̝̊, ɡ͡ʟ̝, ᵑɡ͡ʟ̝/.

In pure IPA, these can be transcribed with diacritics, but a proper letter exists in extIPA, ⟨k𝼄⟩. (SIL International has added this symbol, ⟨⟩, to the Private Use Areas of their Gentium, Charis and Doulos fonts, at U+F268.)

Features[edit]

Features of the voiceless velar lateral affricate:

• Its manner of articulation is affricate, which means it is produced by first stopping the airflow entirely, then allowing air flow through a constricted channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
• Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
• Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
• It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, rather than down the middle.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.

Occurrence[edit]

References[edit]